UBS Group AG Raises Stake in Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. $BFH

UBS Group AG boosted its holdings in shares of Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BFH) by 100.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 716,725 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 359,088 shares during the period. UBS Group AG’s holdings in Bread Financial were worth $53,059,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its position in Bread Financial by 141.2% in the 3rd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 562 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 329 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Bread Financial by 127.2% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 711 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 398 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its position in Bread Financial by 8,300.0% in the 3rd quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 840 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 830 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP grew its position in Bread Financial by 1,509.1% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 885 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 830 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Horizon Corp purchased a new position in Bread Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $56,000. 99.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on BFH. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Bread Financial from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Barclays raised their price target on Bread Financial from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley set a $98.00 price objective on Bread Financial in a report on Friday, April 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Bread Financial from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Bread Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Bread Financial presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $93.36.

Bread Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BFH opened at $85.10 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $77.77 and its 200-day simple moving average is $72.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 1.15. Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $47.87 and a 12 month high of $99.13.

Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $4.18 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.00 by $1.18. The business had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $992.05 million. Bread Financial had a return on equity of 18.79% and a net margin of 11.90%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.86 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 10.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bread Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 29th will be issued a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 29th. Bread Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 7.53%.

Bread Financial announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, February 26th that allows the company to repurchase $600.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 19% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Bread Financial News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Bread Financial this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks bumped longer?term forecasts — the firm raised Q1 2027 and Q3 2027 EPS targets and nudged FY2027 higher to $11.12, and it keeps a “Strong?Buy” rating. That suggests analysts still see upside beyond near?term noise and supports investor confidence in BFH’s multi?quarter earnings trajectory.
• Neutral Sentiment: Bread launched an underwritten public offering of depositary shares representing 1/40th interests in Series B preferred stock; the company said proceeds may be used for general corporate purposes, including contributions to subsidiary Comenity Capital Bank and potential share repurchases. Launch of Preferred Depositary Share Public Offering
• Neutral Sentiment: Market commentary on valuation (post recent strong run) highlights BFH’s improved multiples after gains; this frames investor focus on whether earnings upgrades and capital actions justify the current price. Valuation Check After Strong Recent Share Price Performance
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks cut near?term EPS estimates for 2026 quarters — Q2 2026 was reduced to $2.37 (from $2.48), Q3 2026 to $2.95 (from $3.02), and Q4 2026 to $0.88 (from $1.00). Near?term downward revisions can translate into short?term selling or increased volatility.
• Negative Sentiment: Bread priced the preferred/depositary offering: 4,800,000 depositary shares (with an underwriter option for 720,000 more) of Series B preferred paying 8.875% (fixed?rate reset). While the deal boosts capital and flexibility, the high coupon and additional preferred securities can be viewed as a funding cost and a potential overhang for common shares. Pricing of Depositary Shares Offering

Insider Activity

In other Bread Financial news, Director Roger H. Ballou sold 9,687 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.32, for a total value of $874,929.84. Following the sale, the director owned 30,079 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,716,735.28. This represents a 24.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Bread Financial Profile

Bread Financial, formerly known as Alliance Data Systems, is a Columbus, Ohio–based financial services company that specializes in providing private label credit programs, co-brand credit cards and digital payment solutions for retail partners. The company designs, issues and services proprietary credit products, enabling merchants to offer branded financing options that drive customer loyalty and increase basket sizes at the point of sale. Through its Bread technology platform, Bread Financial delivers installment-based payment options that integrate directly into e-commerce and in-store checkout experiences.

In addition to its core credit offerings, Bread Financial provides analytics, marketing and loyalty services to help merchants better understand consumer behavior and optimize promotional strategies.